Pipes, wiring and ducts of different materials in walls, ceilings and roofs make up all the spaces we walk through and inhabit. They represent the set of networks and equipment necessary for the development of life in our buildings, providing services such as water, electricity or gas, among many others. According to the regulations in each country and the use defined in each space, the installations can be left visible, giving a certain character and aesthetic to interior spaces.
In 1929, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich design the German National Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. The official reception for the exhibition was held there, presided over by King Alfonso XIII and the German authorities. From then on, the story is well known to everyone. A symbolic work of the Modern Movement, the Pavilion has been extensively studied and interpreted, and has inspired the work of several generations of architects.
During the first week of September, Milan Design Week opened its doors to more than 60,000 architects, designers, artists, and craftsmen from all around the world to explore new design innovations and exchange ideas about the interior design, furniture, and lighting. In parallel to the event hosted at the Rho Fiera, interventions by world-renowned architects were installed across the city as part of the Fuorisalone.
The Fuorisalone program took place under the patronage of the Municipality of Milan, and started last April with a digital edition under the theme of "Forms of Living", taking a view on the questions that inspire and influence the future of the furniture and design. Read on to discover the top 5 outdoor installations along with their description.
After a year of absence in light of the pandemic, Milan Design Week, one of the most anticipated design events to take place in Italy, will finally open its doors to visitors. From the 5th to the 10th of September, more than 350,000 architects, designers, artists, and craftsmen from all around the world will have the chance to explore new design innovations and exchange ideas about the interior design, furniture, and lighting. During the week-long event, Salone del Mobile, the awaited furniture and interior design event of the year, will be hosting local and international exhibitors at the Fiera Milano, Rho, along with interventions by world-renowned architects across the city.
ArchDaily will be attending the Salone del Mobile so stay tuned for exclusive interviews and collaborations, and read on to discover what to expect during the week-long exhibition and how architects are taking part of the event.
The International Architecture and Design Festival Concéntrico, now at its 7th edition, prompts an exploration of the urban environment through temporary installations inhabiting the public spaces of the city of Logroño, Spain. From September 2nd to 5th, the festival brings together an array of emerging architects and artists from all over the world to share their perspectives on urban spaces and communities.
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Climatic conditions throughout the world are changing and with extreme temperatures and scarce resources becoming the norm, architectural materials and techniques are having to innovate to prepare for the future.
'Carbon to Rock' is an installation by IGNEOUS TECTONICS (Cristina Parreño and Sergio Araya) being presented in the 2021 Venice Biennale that highlights volcanic rock as a promising material in the global push to mitigate climate change.
Australian research lab Finding Infinity has collaborated with architects, councils and investors to create a strategy that would turn Melbourne into a self-sufficient city by 2030. Building on exemplary case studies and scientific research, the initiative proposes a 10 step plan for the city’s transition from a consumer of resources to a zero-carbon urban environment.
Although deploying four months later than normal (due to an obvious, unforeseen roadblock), the Metropolitan Museum of Art has revealed its 2020 Roof Garden commission, tapping Mexican artist Héctor Zamora to drop a timely intervention across the New York City institution’s outdoor terrace.
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I recently viewed a public art commission at Dubai's foremost cultural district - Alserkal Avenue: it was an installation by an artist collective - METASITU, who had transformed a warehouse on the Avenue previously known as Nadi Al Quoz, into a 21st-century ruin. The work titled: 'we were building sand castles_but the wind blew them away', was inspired by the perennial demolitions that have become an integral part of contemporary placemaking around the world. Through this piece of work, METASITU reflects on the extractive city-building processes, while contextualising them within different human and ecological timelines. The long-term vision of the artists was to deconstruct the building and return its constituent materials to their ‘original state’. Later this year, they plan to further deconstruct the installation into a public landscaped environment.
If a painting can trigger its viewers' emotions with just one observation, imagine the impact of a building-sized mural on an entire city.
Baltimore-based artists Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn found a way to enhance people’s lives through art by adding visual playfulness to public spaces. Since 2012, they have been working on sculptures and large-scale murals, curving around building corners and spilling them onto the ground. The artistic duo explored themes of movement and symmetry by experimenting with bold color combinations, patterns in nature, and woven textiles.
Take a look at some of the lively murals created by Jessie and Katey that transform public spaces into colorful experiences.
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Over the past few days, exceptional products have been exhibited at the Salone del Mobile, ranging from furniture pieces and light fixtures, to textiles and finishes. As part of Milan Design Week, the Salone saw impressive collaborations with architects and the use of never-seen-before materials, all displayed at the Milan Fairgrounds, while some projects — too grand and imposing for a constraint exhibition — took place at the second part of the event, the Fuorisalone.
Take a look at some of the most remarkable outdoor installations at the Milan Design Week 2019 captured by the lens of architectural photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Across the world, developed cities are rebelling against heavy industry. While some reasons vary depending on local circumstances, a common global drive towards clean energy, and the shifting of developed economies towards financial services, automation, and the gig economy, is leaving a common trace within urban centers. From Beijing to Detroit, vast wastelands of steel and concrete will stand as empty relics to the age of steel and coal.
The question of what to do with these wastelands, with defunct furnaces, railways, chimneys, and lakes, may be one of the major urban questions facing generations of architects to come. What can be done when the impracticality of industrial complexes, and the precious land they needlessly occupy, collides with the embodied energy, memories, and histories which few would wish to lose?
It was an early morning in Chelsea, and men in suits were standing around the street, ushering in guests into a dark, 12,000 square-foot exhibition space at the XI gallery. Inside, the room was lit by a centerpiece installation of the New York City skyline, sprawling upwards towards the ceiling with its reflection. Bjarke Ingels was going to unveil new plans for The XI (‘The Eleventh’), a pair of twisting towers set between 17th and 18th Streets and 10th and 11th Avenue. Es Devlin, a British artist who has stage-designed for Beyoncé and Katy Perry, was tapped by HFZ Capital Group to create three installations to present the project.
In the gallery, Bjarke Ingels's work is seen through a sculptural map of Manhattan constructed within a 30-foot wide concave hemisphere (Egg); a pair of illuminated towers gently rotating upon shimmering water (Dance); and a 360-degree film strip of Ingels and his sketches scrolling across a horseshoe-shaped room (Paper, Stone, Glass, Water).
“Evolution in constant motion,” Es Devlin told reporters as she gestured towards the curves of the dancing towers.
Bjarke laughed. “I’ll bring it down to pragmatism.”
Budapest-based architectural firm Hello Wood has continued its annual tradition of constructing wooden Christmas trees, this year expanding the program with a total of 5 trees throughout Europe. In London and Vienna, trees made of sleds recall a design concept first used by Hello Wood in 2013; meanwhile, two locations in Budapest and in the Hungarian city of Kecskemét are witnessing the return of the firm's "charity trees," installations made of firewood which are later dismantled and distributed to families in need for the winter season.
The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has selected Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA for the design of Melbourne’s 2017 MPavilion. The announcement comes after this weekend’s closing of the 2016 MPavilion, designed by Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, which welcomed more than 94,000 visitors to over 287 free events in its 139 day run. Now in its 4th year, the MPavilion program invites architects who have yet to completed a project in Australia to design and construct their first structure in the country.
Russian artist Nikolay Polissky has unveiled his latest project, a large tower for the upcoming traditional holiday of Maslenitsa, a coming of spring celebration that ceremonially burns a symbol of winter.
Currently in the construction phase, the project is made from recycled wood pallets and the tops of logs, which typically are only used as cheap firewood. Additionally, the tower will be covered with hay rolls that cannot be used as animal feed, before being burned at a ceremony on February 25.
![Concéntrico Pavilion by Cássio Sauer, Elisa T. Martins [sauermartins] + Mauricio Méndez. Image Courtesy of Concéntrico](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/6127/e390/e07f/ae01/6619/524d/thumb_jpg/03-pabellon-concentrico-c-sauermartins-plus-mau-mendez.jpg?1630004160 "Concéntrico Pavilion by Cássio Sauer, Elisa T. Martins [sauermartins] + Mauricio Méndez. Image Courtesy of Concéntrico")
7.jpg?1587641448 "© Ismail Noor")
4.jpg?1587641493 "© Ismail Noor")
2.jpg?1587641529 "© Ismail Noor")
11.jpg?1587641544 "© Ismail Noor")
_0942.jpg?1555075486 "Temporary Exhibition by Space Encounters. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
_0885.jpg?1555075448 "Conifera by COS x Mamou-Mani. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
_1081.jpg?1555075537 "Echo by Pezo von Ellrichshausen . Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
_1351.jpg?1555075661 "La Foresta dei Violini by Piuarch. Image © Laurian Ghinitoiu")
